Before the Second World War, Canada was primarily a British nation, and its inhabitants wanted to use proper British products whenever possible, to provide reminders of a home far away. Andrews Liver Salt was an example: no proud son or daughter of the British Empire would ever consider using a colonial or Yank remedy for what this ad euphemistically calls “those annoying little ills.”
I don’t like the look of that druggist. Those deep, empty eyes; that cadaverous face; the way he leans, ever so casually, on the counter, his nostrils catching a faint whiff of intoxicating perfume. When that sleek young flapper leaves the store, he’s going to look up the address on her prescription form. And, late at night, when everyone else is asleep, he’s going to sneak over there and peek into her bedroom window.